AN OVERWHELMING number of constituents have contacted me to complain about Riverside Medical Practice and it seems to me that the situation really has come to a head.

A solution needs to be urgently sought by the practice, and I hope that they can work with myself and NHS Lothian to ensure that residents in Musselburgh have access to the healthcare that they need.

I have been in many talks on this with representatives from East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership and we have been working together to ensure that measures are put in place which support patients at Riverside. From my latest discussions, I understand that Riverside are going to be offered a package of support to ensure that patients can get the care they need. This will include help answering the incoming calls, managing complaints as well as taking all the flu calls. I would urge Riverside to take this offer of help, especially with the winter months and flu season ahead.

Despite the issues, I would like to stress that patients should not act in an aggressive way towards staff at the practice. I understand there may be frustrations but threatening and abusing staff is not the right answer. I hope that these issues will be resolved promptly, but in the meantime if any constituents need support, they are welcome to contact me.

I am undertaking visits locally to stress the importance of the survival of local venues in Scotland, and one I have visited most recently was Eskmills Venue in Musselburgh.

Visiting Eskmills Venue was eye-opening for me in showing just how much businesses can adapt to overcome the challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has presented. I could see clearly that they had the ability to enforce social distancing, and that these guidelines could be followed without difficulty. Not only that, but the venue was an excellent facility which was a delight to visit. I congratulate them for all their hard work in adapting and wish them the best for their business.